Crime, homelessness, and vagrancy have decimated downtown San Francisco, serving as a warning to cities like Dallas.
“I don’t feel safe, there are so many vagrants walking around and there is garbage everywhere,” said Sandra Brealey, 63, who told The Wall Street Journal she used to frequent San Francisco’s downtown area but has stopped doing so over the past five years because of the state of the neighborhood.
More than 25% of the office space in downtown San Francisco is vacant, compared to the national vacancy rate of 16%. Popular retailers like Banana Republic and Nordstrom have recently announced they are closing their stores in the area.
Economists say the area is spiraling into a “doom loop,” while business owners say they are unwilling to invest in a region ravaged by crimes, homelessness, vagrancy, and drug use. Burglaries in the downtown district have risen 14% this year alone.
“The contract is, you provide a safe place to do business and I’ll provide tax revenue,” said former tech worker Steven Buss, speaking with the WSJ. “Until we can provide a safe place to do business, I don’t know if businesses will come back.”
The City of Portland has faced similar problems, having lost $1 billion in tax dollars in the span of one year due to rampant crime and homelessness, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Both cities serve as cautionary tales for Downtown Dallas, which struggles with the same issues of crimes, drug use, homelessness, and vagrancy.
A majority of Dallas residents consider both crime and homelessness to be “major” problems, according to a satisfaction survey commissioned by the City.
Downtown Dallas crime rates have been notably higher than nearby Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security guards.
Adding to the problem is the staffing situation at the Dallas Police Department. The department is short roughly 900 officers. A City analysis recommends there should be about three officers for every 1,000 residents, putting an ideal staffing level for Dallas at approximately 4,000.
Relatedly, the City has instituted several homelessness response initiatives but has yet to pursue the “one-stop-shop” approach championed by Haven for Hope in San Antonio, offering shelter in conjunction with “transformational” programming.
Haven for Hope has been credited with a 77% reduction in homelessness in San Antonio, and the “one-stop-shop” model has polled favorably among Dallas voters.
In a previous interview with The Dallas Express, Adekoye Adams of the activist group Dallas Justice Now said the issues of crime and homelessness were inextricably linked.
“Sustaining a drug habit often requires that … people participate in … crime. … Letting them go on with their lives introduces lawlessness based on this fiction of the crimes being ‘victimless,’ i.e. ‘they aren’t hurting anyone,’ as they take refuge under highways and parks that lead to vagrancy with toxic potential,” Adams said. “I don’t think we should be forced to witness people succumbing to alcohol, crack, or opioid addiction.”